// THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

// Location: Manhattan, Meeting @ 7:15 am 

I opened my eyes this morning at 5:45 am, stepped into the shower thinking I can't believe I'm doing this. My [talented] graphic designer friend Michelle has been asking me for weeks to come to a networking meeting she goes to once a week at 7:15 am. Naturally the time got me like umm no thanks. I'm not a morning person. Michelle is one of those all-the-time-on-people. She has energy at every hour of the day. It's truly a skill. But I decided to get my ass up this morning, made myself a coffee, put on mascara, put some country music in my ears and walked out the door. I've never felt so awake at 7:15 am. It was such a cool experience. The whole purpose of the meeting was to network. Let's start from the beginning, first of all - I had no idea New York City had traffic at 6:45 am. Seriously this city doesn't sleep. I walked into the meeting and was greeted with coffee :) and breakfast. We sat down at tables all facing each other set up in a huge square, sort of like in Uni days. Everyone introduced themselves, said what they do, what they offer, who their clients are, and who they wish to be their clients for 90 seconds. I literally had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was writing down notes to make sure I didn't end up rambling about nothing for 90 seconds. It was pretty intimidating. So naturally when it was my turn I got up and started yelling and dancing [that's how I explain my presentation skills. I can dance in front of thousands of people, but when you make me speak I get really nervous. I used to actually have a huge stutter. Like stut-t-tt-tt-er. I've gotten over it, somewhat, but need to move around and yell in order to control my nerves]. I actually loved it. For the first time in my life I was excited to speak It's incredible what can happen when you talk about what you love. Anyway I ended walking away from todays meeting with three new business cards, and three new contacts. Networking is everything. Hustle is all about building your product while at the same time talking about it. K I need another coffee. happy thursday x -C

// WRITE YOUR OWN STORY

// Location: Soho House, nyc

What if we were all the same, same rules, same game, and we weren't allowed to change anything about anything that anybody's ever done before, wouldn't that be boring? Always spinning on a ride, all walking on a line that they drew a long time ago... when you know that you don't have to go where they go, you can go write your own story. Those are words by Kelsea Ballerini's Square Pegs. A song I heard on my apple music this morning on my to the city, and smiled through entire song. You're responsible for your own life, and you can write your own story. That's a sentence that took me a long time to learn.

If you're on the fence about taking a huge leap into something you love, jump. I promise you'll land on your face, haha kidding, actually you probably will land on your face but someone will always be there to help you up so you can dust yourself off. I had the pleasure of meeting Rachel on this crazy Manhattan island. She's writing her own story just the same as I am, and because of that we can talk for hours about everything or nothing. She's become my best friend who now has to leave New York to continue writing/living her story. Secretly I'm really sad but I'll never let her know that. New York is going to miss you Rachel Bonnetta so is my 'selfie' album on my iPhone. Cheers to your next adventure see you in a few!

Speaking of all of changes, new horoscopes are up! x -C

// GIRL BOSS

// Girl Boss- Podcast 

So this is pretty much what the studio looks like on a coffee refill break. I'm finally sitting down with my computer, it's been a long and interesting day. Naturally some Tarot Card reading followed. I had a meeting down at the Lower East Side today which left me falling off my chair. Things are happening and things are happening quickly. I started to listen to Girl Boss radio. I'm in love with Sophia Amoruso [the founder of Nasty Gal]. She's just like a normal chic with mad street smarts which I admire. She has her own Podcast which I listen to on my lovely commute from the city to Hoboken. Today she was speaking to Moj Mahdara the founder of Made with Elastic and the CEO of Beautycon. Besides the fact that she made me want to be her best friend, she said something really cool about Fear and the importance of it - "I think fear is a vital part of entrepreneurship and living, I think you have to like love it and embrace it, it's your romantic counterpart in anything that you do, and if you can't lean into it, you are not going to be an entrepreneur". I mean I heard that and was like woah... and then i was like, what does "Lean into it mean"? I was listening to a Podacst [also on Girl Boss] yesterday with Christene Barberich [the founder CEO of Refinery 29] and she said sometimes you just have to take leaps and kick and scream the entire way. I'm thinking that's what she means by lean into it? Making large and what could be life changing decisions is scary as fuck. I'm right in the middle of those big scary decisions  and I'm just praying I continue to make the right ones. If you're reading this and are going through the same thing, I feel ya bro. Cheers [take a sip of her wine]. Anyway just some Tuesday thoughts. x -C 

// LEAP WEEK

// #THE6IX

Happy leap week. It feels good to be back in New York feeling rested. I literally slept all day Wednesday & Thursday. Home has that effect on me. Naps around 3 pm, bed times at 10 pm, wake ups at 9 am. Tim Horton mornings :) Yum. Below are some snaps from my morning coffee with artist Chrstine Flynn.  I love love her work. Her photographs make me wish I traveled with her to wherever she was when she took her photos. Sandra and her hubby Adrian [above] threw a fun party Saturday at their beautiful new home. Food Dudes catered and of course did an incredible job. It was a nice feeling to actually attend my best friend's birthday in person and not through FaceTime. My little guy Shai was too cool to make an appearance at his parent's birthday, he's making me work for his attention. In the next few months my sister will be a mommy along with the two best friends. How is time moving this quickly? 

Alright Monday let's do this. x -C

// AIRPORT MODE

// Back to New York City

It's been a lazy/ busy couple of days. I've managed to see a lot of friends while at the same time spend time with the family. We tried a new restaurant on Friday night called Good Son. I recommend the pizza and the brussel sprouts. I'm in the middle of packing up my suitcase and sipping on a Caesar [Canadian's better version on the Bloody Mary] when I remembered I forgot to tell you about my interview dropping tomorrow with The Style Line. In 2015 The Style Line, Elisa from Maman, and I sat down for an interview. Rachel [the founder] asked if I wanted to do a catch up interview to talk about personal and professional changes since our last conversation. I've learned a lot can happen in a year. It actually hasn't even been a year yet since I've launched my first collection. Anniversary date is May 5th [unlimited old fashions to follow]. Anyway you need to sign up for the newsletter in order to read it! Sign up here! Happy Oscar Sunday! x -C

// TEA TIME

Whenever I'm back home it's like my level of tiredness hits an all time high. I wake up feeling tired, I constantly feel like a nap is always a good idea, and by 9 pm I'm ready for my tea and my comfy bed. Like right now. Tea and ready for bed. Tomorrow is a full day of meetings in Toronto which I'm super excited about. I haven't been out in Toronto for a while. I'm excited for my morning Tim Hortons coffee, and my morning traffic. I'll be taking these samples with me! [I'll be on snapchat ckayedesign] x -C

// WOKE UP TO A SNOW DAY

//

Yes this photo was taken in New York, and yes I'm in Toronto. But I found it in my "New York '14" folder and thought it was fitting. So there. I woke up to a snowy Canadian morning, which has now turned into ugly rain. Good thing I'm not outside. I'm currently couch bound, computer open, Ri Ri's playing, XL Tim Hortons coffee beside me, and I've got emails to respond to. How's your Wednesday going?

New horoscopes up! x -C

// FEB FULL MOON

// Make a wish

While at FIT I served at a restaurant in the West Village every Monday and Sunday night for extra cash. I miss that place, anyway whenever there was a night when almost every customer was a pain in my ass, I would make a comment like "Is it a full moon or something?". Yesterday's full moon felt a little different. So naturally I had to read up on it. Apparently the February 22nd full moon says to prepare yourself for the unexpected. There is change the is needed to be made, and if the change is not made there will be lots of anxiety. There is a lot of change headed my way I can feel it. I've been bouncing between large decisions that need to be made in order for me to progress to the next step. My only problem is I don't know if I'm making the right decisions! Fairy godmother, please to come out of the sky and help me. It's going to be interesting to see how the next few months unfold. Hold on tight we're in for a little ride. I hate growing up.